Method of transporting an assembly formed of an enclosure with at least one panel and enclosure to be transported using this method

ABSTRACT

A method of transporting at least one panel intended to form part of a distillation apparatus in which a first, possibly partial, enclosure is built to contain an element of a distillation apparatus that is to operate at a temperature other than ambient temperature, at least one panel is attached to the first enclosure, the first enclosure attached to the at least one panel is transported to an erection site, the at least one panel is detached from the first enclosure and used to finish building the first or to build the second enclosure or to build a completely different element of the plant.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (a) and (b) to French patent application No. FR1660183, filed Oct. 20, 2016, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method of transporting panels intended to form part of an insulated enclosure.

It also relates to an enclosure used for the method of transport.

BACKGROUND

Distillation columns that are to operate at temperatures other than ambient temperature, for example at cryogenic temperatures, are generally installed inside an insulated enclosure. It is also known practice to install within an insulated enclosure elements such as a heat exchanger and/or a storage facility and/or a collection of pipes.

This assembly of insulated enclosure and elements mentioned hereinabove is commonly referred to as a cold box.

There are (at least) two ways of designing cold boxes:

-   -   i) “stick built” which are erected on site, or     -   ii) “package unit” where packages are prefabricated at the         workshop.

A package is generally a rectangular parallelepiped. The packages are generally transported with their longitudinal axis parallel to the ground, so that one of the sides of the package corresponds to one of the short dimensions of the parallelepiped, for example the width, the second side of the packet corresponds to one of the short dimensions of the parallelepiped, for example the height, and finally the third side of the package corresponds to the long dimension of the parallelepiped, for example the length. Upwards of a certain size (a side length of about 6 m) it is difficult to transport packages because they may reach dimensions that can be transported only with difficulty if at all.

In such cases, the element, for example a column, has to be transported separately and the enclosure has to be built around the element once it has arrived on the site, and the insulation has to be installed afterwards.

That entails having labour available on site and may entail the use of expensive cranes. In addition, it is necessary to transport the column and the enclosure, generally as two different lots.

DE102013012606 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,956 describe an enclosure comprising panels fixed against the walls of the enclosure during transport and which turn on hinges once they have arrived on site to create new enclosed spaces attached to the enclosure. The use of hinges limits the utility of this principle because the panel remains constantly attached to the enclosure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, provision is made to mount at least one element inside a first, possibly partial, enclosure, the element being intended to form part of an apparatus comprising at least one insulated enclosure. Next, enclosure panels, intended to surround another element, for example another element of the same apparatus, are attached to the first enclosure and transported later onto site with the first enclosure. After transport, they are removed from the first enclosure and used to build a second enclosure or another part of the first enclosure. The element may for example be a distillation column, a phase separator, a heat exchanger or a collection of pipes.

According to one subject matter of the invention, there is provided a method for transporting an assembly formed of an enclosure with at least one panel, the assembly being intended to form part of a distillation apparatus in which a first, possibly partial, enclosure is built to contain an element of a distillation apparatus that is to operate at a temperature other than ambient temperature, for example a cryogenic temperature, at least one panel, which may be a panel of a second insulated enclosure intended to form part of the apparatus or a panel of another part of the first enclosure, is attached to the first enclosure, the first enclosure attached to the at least one panel is transported to an erection site, the at least one panel is completely detached from the first enclosure, or even all the panels are completely detached from the first enclosure, and used to finish building the first or to build the second enclosure or to build a completely different element of the plant.

According to one optional aspect of the invention:

-   -   the first enclosure is intended to form part of a plant.     -   The first enclosure is transported containing at least one         element of the apparatus that may be at least a distillation or         scrubbing column and/or at least a heat exchanger and/or at         least a storage facility and/or at least a collection of pipes.     -   The first enclosure is transported with a temporary face closing         the enclosure during transport and the rest of the first         enclosure is built on site using at least one panel transported         attached to the first enclosure during transport.     -   The first enclosure is transported with a temporary face closing         the enclosure during transport and the rest of the first         enclosure is built on site using at least one panel transported         attached to the first enclosure during transport.     -   At least one panel transported by the first enclosure has         substantially the same length and the same width as the wall of         the first enclosure to which it is attached.     -   The first enclosure is a partial enclosure during transport and         the rest of the walls of the enclosure are made up of at least         one panel, or even three panels, transported attached to the         first enclosure during transport.     -   Several panels are assembled with one another, one edge of one         panel being contiguous with one edge of another panel, so that a         right angle is formed between two panels, to form an assembly         and the assembly is attached to the first enclosure, the first         enclosure attached to the assembly of at least two walls is         transported to an erection site, the assembly is detached from         the first enclosure and used to finish building the first or to         build the second enclosure or to build a completely different         element of the plant.     -   The assembly is dimensioned so that each panel of the assembly         is attached against the first enclosure.     -   The panel is a metallic element.     -   The panel is made up of a metallic rectangular frame covered         with metal sheeting.     -   At least two panels are transported on the first enclosure and         the at least two panels are attached to one another after having         been detached from the first enclosure to finish building the         first or to build the second enclosure or to build a completely         different element of the plant.

Another subject of the invention is an enclosure for an element of a distillation apparatus intended to operate at a temperature other than ambient temperature, designed to be transported according to the method described hereinabove, comprising a framework in the form of a parallelepiped, at least six faces of which are covered with metal sheeting completely or partially covering each face and comprising at least one enclosure panel attached temporarily against at least one piece of metal sheeting.

According to other optional aspects, the enclosure comprises:

-   -   at least one element of the apparatus is at least a distillation         or scrubbing column and/or at least an exchanger and/or at least         a storage facility and/or at least a set of pipes.     -   At least one element of the apparatus is at least a distillation         column and/or a heat exchanger and/or a storage facility and/or         a set of pipes which is to operate at a cryogenic temperature.     -   Insulation around the at least one element.     -   At least one wall attached against the metal sheeting of a face         of the enclosure and at least one wall attached against the         metal sheeting of another face of the enclosure, the panels         potentially being attached to one another to form an assembly of         panels.     -   The panels are attached to one another to form an assembly of         panels which is attached against at least two faces of the         enclosure.     -   The at least one enclosure panel is not attached to the         enclosure by a hinge.     -   The first enclosure is transported with the at least one panel,         or even all the panels, in a vertical position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the figures which show the successive steps in the method of transportation with various cross sections through an enclosure.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 shows an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a partial enclosure A viewed from above, which means to say an enclosure which is to be connected to other walls in order to form a definitive enclosure which is used to insulate elements of an apparatus performing separation by distillation, for example an air separation unit.

This partial enclosure A has a parallelepepidal shape and comprises two lateral walls 2, 4, two frontal walls 3, 5, possibly a partition 6 parallel to the lateral walls 2 and 4, and only a floor which may comprise at least four legs, or only a roof, or a floor and a roof (this (these) latter not being illustrated because the cross section is taken mid-way up the height of the enclosure). The three walls 4, 3, 5 are frameworks, for example of the metal framework type, completely or partially covered with metal sheeting, and are intended to constitute walls of the definitive enclosure. The wall 6, when present, is a framework, for example of the metal framework type, which is partially or completely not covered with metal sheeting. By contrast, the wall 2 is a framework that is not covered, or is completely covered or partially covered, with a temporary metal sheeting and/or definitive metal sheeting which affords not only mechanical protection, but also protection against the weather, to the elements inside this partial enclosure while it is being transported.

Inside the partial enclosure 1 are arranged elements 7, 8, 9 that are to be insulated in the definitive positions that they will have in the operating distillation apparatus. During operation, they are surrounded with insulation 10, which may be perlite or Rockwool, but during transport, the space 10 is empty.

The enclosure contains at least one element of the apparatus 7, 9 that may be at least a distillation column and/or at least an exchanger and/or at least a storage facility and/or at least a collection of pipes. It may also contain at least a valve 8 and/or at least a turbine and/or at least a compressor.

During the manufacture of the enclosure A one panel 3A is temporarily attached to the wall 3, one panel 4A to the wall 4 or 2 and one panel 5A to the wall 5, for example using bolts. The panels are laid flat each against the surface of a wall. The three panels 3A, 4A, 5A are frameworks, for example of the metal framework type, covered with metal sheeting.

At least one panel may potentially be attached to one or more walls of the partial enclosure. In the example, the panels 3A, 4A, 5A have substantially the same lengths and widths as the walls 3, 4, 5 to which they are attached.

The panel 4A may be attached to the wall 2 but it is possible for the panel 4A also to be attached to the edges of the walls 3 and 5 and for it to completely or partially replace the temporary and/or definitive sheeting of the wall 2 so that when the panel 4A is removed, the wall 2 of the partial enclosure A is completely or partially open.

As the walls 3, 4, 5 are used to support the panels 3A, 4A and 5A, the panels 3A, 4A and 5A can be made relatively lightweight because they are stiffened by the supports 3, 4 and 5.

FIG. 2, which is a face-on view, shows that the panels 3A, 4A and 5A are fixed flat against the walls 3, 4 and 5 whereas the enclosure rests on several supports S which are removed for transport. In this position, the enclosure A can be transported from the site at which the panels 3A, 4A and 5A have been fixed in place, to its definitive installation site which may be somewhere other than the site at which the enclosure was manufactured.

The enclosure will be mounted on a means of transport, such as a lorry or a boat, with the longitudinal axis of the panels and of the walls 2, 3, 3A, 4, 4A, 5, 5A in a horizontal position and ideally supported by the wall 2, namely with their longitudinal axis oriented at 90° to the orientation it will have when definitively installed on site.

Nevertheless, if transport constraints so permit, the longitudinal axis of the enclosure A and the entirety of the walls and panels 2, 3, 3A, 4, 4A, 5, 5A may be oriented and transported vertically.

Thus, a single package allows not only the enclosure A but also the panels 3A, 4A and 5A, to be transported.

FIG. 3 shows the definitive enclosure after the erection step having arrived on site, in a view from above. Here, the panel 3A is arranged in the continuation of the wall 3 and in the same plane, but it could also be installed in a parallel plane offset by an amount not exceeding 500 mm maximum, with the panel 5A in the continuation of the wall 5 and in the same plane but likewise able to be installed in a parallel plane offset by an amount not exceeding 500 mm maximum. The join, by bolted and/or welded assembly between the wall 3 or 2 and the panel 3A and the one between 2 or 5 and 5A, to guarantee the mechanical integrity of the new assembly, will be rendered watertight, for example using a seal or using a continuous weld around the entire connection perimeter. The panel 4A is offset by a few metres from its initial position during transport and fixed perpendicularly to the panels 3A and 5A. In the same way, the join using a bolted assembly and/or a welded assembly between the wall 4A and the panel 3A and the one between 4A and 5A, to guarantee the mechanical integrity of the new assembly, will be rendered watertight by a seal or by a continuous weld around the entire connection perimeter. Thus, starting out from panels 3A, 4A, 5A of the same dimensions as the walls 3, 4 and 5, it is possible to build, on site, a definitive enclosure comprising the partial enclosure A which has as its walls 3, 4, 5, and another partial enclosure B, which has as its panels 3A, 4A, 5A, the definitive assembly thus being reconstructed to twice the scale of the partial enclosures.

Before closing the reconstructed definitive new enclosure, at least one element that is to be insulated 1 will be installed in the other partial enclosure B and insulation 10 will be added. The at least one element to be installed 1 will be at least a distillation column and/or at least an exchanger and/or at least a storage facility and/or at least a collection of pipes and/or valves.

In this way, it becomes possible to plan the build with greater flexibility. The element 1, for example a column, may be delivered to site at the last minute, the various parts of the enclosure having themselves already been in situ on the final construction site.

In addition, it thus becomes possible to transport a partial package comprising elements prefabricated at the workshop, smaller in size than those of the definitive cold box, and thereby similarly limit the activities on the erection site as compared with an entirely stick-built cold box solution.

It is also possible for the panels 3A, 4A, 5A to be used to build an enclosure independent of the partial enclosure A. The partial enclosure A may also itself be a definitive enclosure which will be set down on site once the panels 3A, 4A, 5A have been detached.

Nevertheless, it is advantageous for the detachable panels to be handled, on the erection site for moving them into their definitive place, in a vertical position, after definitive placement of the partial support enclosure, so as to reduce the lifting and handling operations required for putting these in place.

Indeed, the flat panels 3A, 4A and 5A will have better mechanical behaviour in this position and their design may be optimised, limiting the mass of the walls, so as, in engineering terms, to only meet their overall mechanical strength requirement once the definitive enclosure has been reconstructed, and not meet an additional handling-stress requirement since they are effectively not subjected to bending during the phases of tilting them from their horizontal position during transport into their definitive vertical position as could have been the case had they been handled from initially having been laid on the ground.

According to certain embodiments of the invention, the panels may be transported also on an enclosure in a vertical position during transport and will not be pivoted during installation on site where they will be placed in their vertical definitive position. Nevertheless, certain embodiments of the invention apply to the far more frequent scenario in which the panels are transported on the enclosure in a horizontal position.

Like FIG. 1, FIG. 4 shows a partial enclosure viewed from above, namely an enclosure which can be connected to other walls so as to form a definitive enclosure used to isolate elements of an apparatus performing separation by distillation, for example an air separation unit. Unlike FIG. 1, the first enclosure of FIG. 4 is covered on several sides with a stack of several panels 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 5A and 5B. Certain panels of flat shape may have a smaller width than the walls to which they are attached. The panels may also not be flat and thus form an L-shaped building element (like 3B and 5B).

Like FIG. 2, FIG. 5, which is a face-on view, shows that the panels 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 5A and 5B are fixed flat against the walls 3, 4 and 5 while the enclosure is resting on a number of supports S which are removed for transport. In this position, the enclosure A can be transported from the site at which the panels 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 5A and 5B were fixed in place, to its place of definitive installation which may be a site other than the site at which the enclosure was manufactured.

These panels are transported with the enclosure and then detached and used, preferably on site.

FIG. 6 shows the definitive enclosure after the erection step having arrived on site and viewed from above. The erection procedure is similar to the one described in FIG. 3 above.

It is also possible for the panels 3A, 4A, 5A to be used to build an enclosure independent of the definitive enclosure made up of the partial enclosure A and of the partial enclosure B, for example an enclosure C, or to be used for other purposes elsewhere in the plant.

Like FIG. 1, FIG. 7 shows a partial enclosure viewed from above, namely an enclosure which may be connected to other walls so as to form a definitive enclosure used to insulate the elements of an apparatus performing separation by distillation, for example an air separation unit. Unlike FIG. 1, the first enclosure in FIG. 7 is coated with two panels 3A and 5A which are assembled to form an L-shaped building element with a long length of the L substantially the same length as the walls 3, 5 to which they are attached and a small width of the L which is twice as small as the width of the wall 4 to which they are attached.

Like FIG. 2, FIG. 8, which is a face on-view, shows that the panels 3A and 5A are fixed flat against the walls 3, 4 and 5 while the enclosure is resting on several supports S which are removed for transport. In this position, the enclosure A may be transported from the site at which the panels 3A and 5A were fitted, to its definitive installation point which may be a site other than the one at which the enclosure was manufactured.

These panels are transported with the enclosure and then detached and used, preferably on site.

FIG. 9 shows the definitive enclosure after the erection step once it has arrived on site, viewed from above. The erection procedure is similar to the one described in FIG. 3 above.

Like FIG. 2, FIG. 10 shows a partial enclosure viewed face on. Here, the panels are joined together to form an assembly 20B of U-shaped cross section, each panel being set at 90° to the panel with which it is contiguous. Because the panels are attached to one another to form a rigid assembly, this assembly can be attached to the partial enclosure A by attaching just two of the panels of the assembly 20B to a wall of the partial enclosure A. It is possible for example to conceive of the assembly 20B being placed on the ground and sliding over the partial enclosure.

FIG. 11 shows the definitive enclosure after the step of erecting it once it has arrived on site, in a view from above.

After transport, the assembly 20B is detached from the partial enclosure A in order to build, on site, a definitive enclosure by combining the partial enclosure A and the assembly 20B as. The erection procedure is similar to the one described in FIG. 3 above.

In any event, the insulation 10 is added on site. This is generally a pulverulent insulation, for example perlite.

This concept applies to superposed columns just as it does to side by side columns.

While the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations as fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims. The present invention may suitably comprise, consist or consist essentially of the elements disclosed and may be practiced in the absence of an element not disclosed. Furthermore, if there is language referring to order, such as first and second, it should be understood in an exemplary sense and not in a limiting sense. For example, it can be recognized by those skilled in the art that certain steps can be combined into a single step.

The singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” include plural referents, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

“Comprising” in a claim is an open transitional term which means the subsequently identified claim elements are a nonexclusive listing (i.e., anything else may be additionally included and remain within the scope of “comprising”). “Comprising” as used herein may be replaced by the more limited transitional terms “consisting essentially of” and “consisting of” unless otherwise indicated herein.

“Providing” in a claim is defined to mean furnishing, supplying, making available, or preparing something. The step may be performed by any actor in the absence of express language in the claim to the contrary.

Optional or optionally means that the subsequently described event or circumstances may or may not occur. The description includes instances where the event or circumstance occurs and instances where it does not occur.

Ranges may be expressed herein as from about one particular value, and/or to about another particular value. When such a range is expressed, it is to be understood that another embodiment is from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value, along with all combinations within said range.

All references identified herein are each hereby incorporated by reference into this application in their entireties, as well as for the specific information for which each is cited. 

We claim:
 1. A method for transporting and erecting a cold box assembly at a second location distal from a first location, the method comprising the steps of: providing the cold box assembly at the first location, wherein the cold box assembly comprises a first enclosure defined by a set of walls, wherein the cold box assembly further includes a set of panels removably attached to an outer periphery of the set of walls and a distillation element disposed within the first enclosure; transporting the cold box assembly in a horizontal position; erecting the cold box assembly from the horizontal position to a vertical position at the second location and then removing the set of panels from the outer periphery of the set of walls while in the vertical position; forming a second enclosure using the set of panels; installing a second distillation element within the second enclosure while at the second location; and installing insulation within the volume of the first enclosure and the second enclosure
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first location is a fabrication shop and the second location is an installation site.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the set of panels are made of a different material than the set of walls, wherein the total mass of the set of panels is less than the total mass of the set of the walls.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the set of walls are configured to provide structural support for the first enclosure in both the horizontal position and the vertical position.
 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the set of panels are configured to provide structural support for the second enclosure only in the vertical position, wherein the set of walls are configured to provide structural support for the set of panels in the horizontal position.
 6. A method for transporting an assembly formed of an enclosure with at least one panel, the assembly configured to form part of a distillation apparatus in which a first enclosure is built to contain an element of a distillation apparatus that is to operate at a temperature other than ambient temperature, at least one panel, which may be a panel of a second insulated enclosure intended to form part of the apparatus or a panel of another part of the first enclosure, is attached to the first enclosure, the first enclosure attached to the at least one panel is transported to an erection site, the at least one panel is completely detached from the first enclosure, or even all the panels are completely detached from the first enclosure, and used to finish building the first or to build the second enclosure or to build a completely different element of the plant.
 7. The method according to claim 6, in which the first enclosure is transported containing at least one element of the apparatus selected from the group consisting of a distillation column, a scrubbing column, a heat exchanger, a storage facility, a collection of pipes, and combinations thereof.
 8. The method according to claim 7, in which the first enclosure is transported with a temporary face closing the enclosure during transport and the rest of the first enclosure is built on site using at least one panel transported attached to the first enclosure during transport.
 9. The method according to claim 8, in which at least one panel transported by the first enclosure has the same length and the same width as the wall of the first enclosure to which it is attached.
 10. The method according to claim 6, in which the first enclosure is a partial enclosure during transport and the rest of the walls of the enclosure are made up of at least one panel, or even three panels, transported attached to the first enclosure during transport.
 11. The method according to claim 6, in which several panels are assembled with one another, one edge of one panel being contiguous with one edge of another panel, so that a right angle is formed between two panels, to form an assembly and the assembly is attached to the first enclosure, the first enclosure attached to the assembly of at least two walls is transported to an erection site, the assembly is detached from the first enclosure and used to finish building the first or to build the second enclosure or to build a completely different element of the plant.
 12. The method according to claim 11, in which the assembly is dimensioned so that each panel of the assembly is attached against the first enclosure.
 13. The method according to claim 6, in which no part of the at least one panel remains is attached to the first enclosure by a hinge.
 14. The method according to claim 6, in which at least two panels are transported on the first enclosure and the at least two panels are attached to one another after having been detached from the first enclosure to finish building the first or to build the second enclosure or to build a completely different element of the plant.
 15. An enclosure for an element of a distillation apparatus intended to operate at a temperature other than ambient temperature, designed to be transported according to the method of claim 1, comprising a framework in the form of a parallelepiped, at least six faces of which are covered with metal sheeting completely or partially covering each face and comprising at least one enclosure panel attached temporarily against at least one piece of metal sheeting.
 16. The enclosure according to claim 15 comprising at least one element of the apparatus that may be at least a distillation or scrubbing column and/or at least a heat exchanger and/or at least a storage facility and/or at least a collection of pipes.
 17. The enclosure according to claim 15 containing insulation around the at least one element.
 18. The enclosure according to claim 15 having at least one wall attached against the metal sheeting of a face of the enclosure and at least one wall attached against the metal sheeting of another face of the enclosure.
 19. The enclosure according to claim 18, in which the panels are attached to one another to form an assembly of panels which is attached against at least two faces of the enclosure.
 20. The enclosure according to claim 15, in which the at least one enclosure panel is not attached to the enclosure by a hinge. 